The present invention generally relates to solar cells. More specifically, the present invention relates to a three-dimensional (3-D) solar cell that maximizes the solar cell efficiency and minimizes energy loss.
Solar energy generation is an important and growing area in the field of environmentally friendly energy production. A solar cell, also called photo-voltaic cell, is a device that converts the energy of light directly into electricity by the photovoltaic effect. Solar cells are composed of various semiconducting materials, which absorb the different wavelengths in sunlight with different efficiencies. Currently known solar cells typically have the form of a flat structure. Unfortunately having a flat structure with only one type of photo-voltaic material only allows the solar cell to absorb a small portion of the sun's energy. Using multiple types of photo-voltaic materials, which absorb wavelengths in sunlight differently, together in one apparatus; the energy in the spectrum of sunlight can be more fully utilized and a greater proportion of the energy in sunlight can be converted to electricity.
As can be seen, there is a need to provide solar cells that provide more surface area for energy generation and with greater energy conversion efficiency.